


Golden hour

by Lily_as_Rose



Series: Searching [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst and Tragedy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Romantic Friendship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-01 12:43:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17867504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lily_as_Rose/pseuds/Lily_as_Rose
Summary: In an alternate universe where there are no miraculous, marinette was caught up in a terrible incident that affected all of paris. Finding it hard to get back on her feet marinette tries to forget it all. Will the stray she picked up along the way be able to help?





	1. The stray

**Author's Note:**

> My first public fic pls leave constructive feedback in the comments! I hope to make this fic fluffy and have friendship to lovers type stuff

Marinette sat with her feet overhanging the scar in the low hung light of the late afternoon sun. From this great height she really ought to have stayed on the cracked concrete path that once resembled a road but there she was on a tauntingly angled slab of rock, lined with overgrown grasses and wildflowers. Leaning against a rusted metal frame she let out a defeated sigh and at long last heavy tears rolled down her cheeks.

Marinette had been here when it happened- the day the rain came. She everything that day..

She could still remember what this place looked like before. Busy with people and cars in two layers of a beautiful structure that overlooked the horison. In the evenings the glow of the car lights in a herd of blurred darkness under the dying embers of sunset were a truly extraordinary sight to behold. Now there is only a great graveyard. Cracked concrete and large ugly bolders where the structures fell, all scattered with the corpses of cars left abadoned to be taken over by the forces of nature. Despite the mess, the sight of the scar brought back harsh memories for everyone so it was left untouched since they declared the area ‘unstable’. It was also technically off limits and marinette knew this. It was the one place she knew anymore. Breaking all the rules, the old marinette would never have dreamed of doing such things but it changed her. No one escaped the tradegy. It affected everyone. No one could bare the pain of returning here except her. She was alone.

“I hope you aren’t planning on jumping.” A low voice interupted the silence, making her jump.

Marinette tensed and wiped at her face. “Not today.” She growled her reply without turning around to look at the intruder. However, the solemn laugh and the shuffling sounds spiked her curiosity. She watched as the figure slunk forward to join her on the ledge from the corner of her eye, the black silhouette seeming to have a tail? And cat ears? She gave in and turned to size him up. He sat hunched over beside her with crossed legs. A mob of black hair poked out from under his hoodie and a leather clad hand hid his face from her. It wasn’t just shadow before, he was dressed in all black and had a length of rope tied around his waist one end falling loose and his hood poked up in corners that resembled ears. His curled up form almost made her laugh outloud. He reminded her of a stray cat that wondered around here occasionally. 

“Bad day?” Asked the figure. All he got was a non-comital shrug so they both sunk back into the still air.

They sat in silence until the air turned crisp. She heard him fidget a little every now and then but she never turned around. It was only when the sky burnt orange that the silence was broken. 

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Marinette glared at the stray who was much to pleased to see the site of a tragedy. She was shocked to see that a black smear of paint continued to obscure his face from her in the shadow of his hood.  
“-terrible, very terrible but beautiful despite all the... you know?” He looked at her expectantly but again no reply.

His voice was soft and marinette had this nagging sense of familiarity she couldn’t place in his shadowy face. She watched him mull over his next words for a while, intrigue and something else kept her by his side.

“Were.. were you there?” 

She met green glowing eyes and her breathe got caught- with emotion from the question of course she added to herself. He looked away. They sat in silence once again.

The final light was draining from the sky when a cough interupted the stillness. Marinette turned to find the stray had moved. Just behind her a green glint caught her eye and she let out a breath she hadn’t realise she held. 

“You alright to get home in the dark?” The stray questioned.  
The concern in his voice sounded so genuine but still marinette quiet as she stared into the darkness where he stood. Nearly a minute passed before she nodded and croaked out a yeah. And then he was gone.


	2. Comfy silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette’s life is a blurr but there he is, the cat that keeps on coming back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on skipping through marinette’s home life and such because se in my mind marinette can’t find herself there, it’s like time won’t stand still. So i will show a little bit of flashbacks instead? Let me know if i make any of it too confusing!

Marinette watched her feet as they swung numbly over the edge before laying back with a sigh. The midday sun shone in the open blue sky beating directly onto her. She shut her eyes tight and a whimpered breath escaped. She sheltered her face from the sun. It had no place shining light into this private place. Her heavy breaths raked her ribs and dug gaping holes in her stomach before she gave in and wept. How dare the cowardly sun return now. On days like these marinette wished to plunge the world into darkness and disappear but she couldn’t leave. She had come here everyday for a good while now. She had come to watch and wait and think. But more often than not cry

After the incident the fall back in the news and morale throughout paris was terrible. Marinette was in shock and didn’t leave her room for a week. Her parents were so glad she got home safe they held her for hours before noticing she hadn’t spoken a word. They had persuaded her to eat a couple of times through the week; their active worrying was what kept her from starving. But when the week turned into two her parents sat her down and finally adressed the matter directly. Weeks turned to months before anything got through to marinette. Her parents had closed the bakery to watch her; to try and find something to save her from her self destruction. She had gone to the bathroom one night only to hear her father crying with fear for her. Her mother had not got any sleep, being kept up most nights with worry. Marinette felt guilt beyond the pain of what happened and surrendered to her parents help. She had neglected her long hair which was so hopelessly tangled her mum had to cut it short before attempting to brush it out. Her pale skin and hollow cheeks led to the rule to be outside and eat 3 meals everyday no arguments! Marinette knew her parents would never give in as they had consulted many proffesionals on how to help her and they loved her very much but she was just glad to see the hopeful smiles that held the fear from being in their eyes. There had been nearly 3 months of this intense recovery period before marinette’s parents had finally reopened the bakery.

The first day she came back here to the scar after what happened came after Marinette had adopted the same pigtail hairstyle she had had throughout highschool and had been sitting on her balcony each day ( to act as her time outside before she got her strength back) but when her frail skin and bone became similar to her old slim and fit (with less fit and more slim) she adorned her now slightly ill-fitting hoodie and joggers and went out. She was wearing the least colourful outfit she owned and still felt like it needed to be duller. Equip with a pastry for lunch and adoring hugs from both parents she had wandered aimlessly. By this time it was closest to 10 months after the incident and marinette still has no clue to this day how she got into the out of bounds area that was the scar. She woke from her hazy wondering to standing over it on this half destroyed walkway. The shock of seeing it again had weakened her knees; she had fallen forward and thrown up. Shaking in a tight curled up ball she relived it all over again only to snap out of it once a purring mass of furr brushed past. Reaching out to pet it scared it into the deepening shadows and marinette rushed back home. That night when she got back her parents were worried but they soon learned her new routine and with crime rates being lower than ever in paris since the unexpected new arrival of an unknown vigilante in the pastfew months they were happy enough to let her stay out until the sunset each night.

Marinette felt betrayed by the weather. She wished the sky would mourn as she did. Instead the arching path of the sun had a clear unblocked path in the sky. She lay there watching the small clumps of clouds move around her in dizzying patterns until her tears were spent.

“Cloudwatching today are we?” 

Unlike her other cat this strange stray had come back. It was the 4th late afternoon he had turned up and she had long since stopped crying from earlier. That didn’t stop marinette from reaching for her face before turning round to greet him. She frowned. He wasn’t there.

She had to admit she was getting a little attatched to her stray. He still wore the rope around his waist and always had his hood over his head, the corners poked up a little resembling ears and the link she made between him and a cat stuck. A suprise came on the second meeting however when a mob of blonde hair fell beneath the hood. Since their relationship didn’t have a lot of talking involved all the explaination she received for the change was a shrug and a smirk.

When she turned back to face the scar she gasped and flailed backwards. It was lucky she was already sat down for the sneaky cat had perched directly infront on her on the ledge between her feet. She joined his contagious laughter partially from the relief of his appearance but it faded quickly. The mood here tends to revert to somber but something was shifting. As his silhouette was lit by the sun from behind, his face was still masked in shadow- but there was definitely something familiar about him. A silent conversation of small curious smiles and smug smirks led to the two of them laid next to each other watching the few clouds passing by. She felt like she had known him for a life time but she had only seen him a few times. She didn’t even know his name. There was something she couldn’t put her finger on. For now she was content to lay on her stone ledge with him in comfortable silence. He never once pressured her to talk and she liked that. She was sure he had as many questions as she did but for now they would just enjoy their silence.


	3. Stay close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time may heal but for marinette her new friend is her only source of air in a suffocating world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am planning on taking my time with this fic because i believe that its the journey not the destination. Especially in writing its how they get to the happy ending that makes it good. If i do it right and as i plan then it will built up into a great series. Lets find out together.
> 
> Songs to listen to while reading?: spotify revision ballad playlist, please dont go- joel adams

Marinette’s heart was heavy. She sat unmoving, unblinking in her usual spot. Her eyes had an empty ache to them as she simply stared . She felt worn down. She hadn’t returned to college this year like many others and spent most of her time disconnected. How could her limbs be so weighed down by exhaustion when she had barley moved? She focused on her breathing struggling to keep it even in its shalloweness . It was so cruel that mere hours in a single day can take nearly a year of her life. She was sure it would affect many more to come. The pain never wanes even after all this time...

A phrase in all the local media was time will heal the wound in the city. They say how everyone should stick together and help each other out. It will get better. Marinette stopped believing that a long time ago. Her days were made up of eternity in each hour and the days still managed to spill through her fingers like sand. The only time the dizzying blurr would calm was with her stray cat. He was the only person she felt honest with as if in their silence all their secrets had been spilled. It was strange to say the least. She didn’t know his name or even how old he was. They had spent nearly a week together just keeping one another company and she felt more comfortable by his side than anywhere else. Its like time started healing her when she was with him. They both needed the undemanding company it seemed as she noticed him arrive tense and slowly relax in her company each day. Sometimes in the evenings the cat would make an amusing expression and they would both share a breathy laugh. Who was he? 

A relieved sigh behind her led to a familiar inward smile as she turned to greet her visitor. A gleam in his eye and his sad smile twisted her insides. He stood there just watching her for moment before taking his place beside her. She could feel her breathing deepen and a flood of cold air reached her lungs. Breathing as if for the first time in years. She laughed at the sensation. He gave her a quizzical look before joining in. It was gentle and bizarre almost happy. Nothing quite made sense around him. When they calmed down again he looked into her eyes and the smile that hid there was bright unlike the barely upturned corners of his mouth. They both sighed.

“Who are you?” It came out a breathless whisper and marinette barely noticed she spoke aloud as her focusblay solely on the details in his eyes. He didn’t move away but his eyebrows furrowed. His lips were pinched together like he was barely holding his answer back. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think...” she let out a scoff “I don’t even know you and you are clearly trying to Stay hidden with your black clothes and covering your face and...” Her words were just falling out like river bursting through a broken dam “For all I know you might even be this new vigilante-..” she stopped. She watched his face fall. He looked guilty and something else. Confusion? I mean it was obvious wasn’t it? Why else would he be dressed as he is? She felt stupid how could she miss it? She hunched over and held her face in her hands.

“It’s alright it’s not like I could have introduced myself or anything” his eyebrows creased and his guilt turned into an amused smile.

“Shouldn’t you have a fake name at least? Something I can call you?” 

He paused. 

“Well I didn’t really have a need for one before.” He spoke to his hands rather than marinette. 

“You really are just a stray lil kitty aren’t you?” He laughed at that and looked back up to meet her eyes.

“Oh yeah? Why don’t you give me a name then?”

“ mhm...” marinette put her fingers under her chin in a mock thinking expression. He watched her as she dragged it out. “ How about... cat-man?” 

“ NOOO Thats simply paw-ful” They both laughed heartily at that, leaning onto each other.

“ I will keep thinking.” Her voice was soft as she spoke. Once again they just stilled as their eyes met and the air felt full. 

As the golden haze of sunset fell over them he spoke up again. “How about you m’lady? What do I call you?” 

Marinette rose her eyebrow to that but smirked. “Marinette.” 

“Hm.. Marinette.” The stray smiled as he tested her name in his mouth a few times dramatically before turning to face the giggling marinette with a smirk.  
“Marinette” her whispered name combined with the intensity of his eyes sent shivers down her arms and she rolled her eyes and smirked. It failed to stop his smug smile clinging to his face for the rest of the night “Such a dork.”


	4. Cat puns and hidden smiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of fluff as marinette and her stray spend their evenings getting to know each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playlist i was listening to while writing was romantic ballads on spotify but it doesn’t rlly fit the mood i was going for? 😂 feel free to comment any songs you feel fit

“Its puuuuurfect!”

Marinette laughed at her stray before shoving him lightly. “ Just because I said you looked like a cat doesn’t mean I deserve this torture!”

“What is the paw-puss of anything if it isn’t fun? Plus this drawing is pawsome mari, really!” 

“Urgh you are a cat-astrophe!” They both caught the giggles leaning on one another until they fell backwards just fueling their hysteria. Marinette had brought her sketchbook today after revealing her old ambitions to become a designer to the stray the previous day. It was still difficult for marinette to talk about a lot of things but he didn’t push her so they had started to talk but only until the sunset. It worked pretty well, marinette would spend her afternoon by herself before having peaceful company until the sky lit up with the dying sun where she would learn about her stray and laugh until all the light was gone and they would part ways.

“Why did you stop?” He was silenced by a single look. Marinette wasn’t upset exactly; she just wasn’t ready to talk about her lost dreams, not yet. 

“Sorry, I...” 

Marinette shook her head and put a hand on his arm to say “No, don’t worry about it.” 

He stared at her hand before she removed it and sat back to look at the sky. It could almost have been on fire. The soft clouds made it less fierce and pink hues caught in the light transformed the sky. It had been a few minutes before she came out of her wondering gaze and turned back to him. He shook his head a little and turned to look down at the book in his hands as if he too had been pulled out of a daze. Both of them blinked in shock. He had turned to a page with the drawing of a hat covered in feathers. Marinette stared at the sketchbook for a minute before reaching forward to close it. She hadn’t seen that in years and had almost forgotten about it. It was a design marinette had drawn back in her school days for a competition. At the time it was the greatest dilema of her life that it just happened to be judged by her idol -the father of her intense crush! Adrien, who was the centre of marinette’s life for many years, had modelled the winner’s design. After a little drama with her worst enemy (yes, she had a declared enemy) she was the winner! The memories of that event were flashing through her eyes. Unfortunately, it turned out her crush was allergic to feathers! 

Her crush. Adrien. Her old feelings came back to her like a punch in the stomach. After all these years. They had spoken a little online since school but since they were never more than friends it wasn’t kept up.

“Adrien.” It was barely a breathless whisper.

“Yeah.” His voice matched her hushed tone before he continued “I mean i remember that, the design haha.” He reached up to rub the back of his neck and a toothy smile played on his lips. “ In the magazines? Its a great design. Adrien, he was the model right?” 

Marinette wasn’t paying much attention. Regret. That’s what she was feeling. Excruciatingly close to confessing to him so many times and here she was. Years of pinning ending empty handed. 

“Marinette?” He sat infront of her waving a hand in her face. “Everything alright?” 

“ Just,” she sighed. “ reminded me of someone I would rather forget.” 

She saw his face looking pained and wondered why he looked so hurt. “I will never forget you, Chat. You know that don’t you?” 

His mood didn’t appear to change but he looked up slowly. “What did you call me?” 

“Chat? You don’t like it?” Marinette shrugged. “Just trying it out.” 

“Chat. Hmm.. Chat... Chat Noir!” He was testing out the name like he did marinette’s slowly and then theatrically. “That’s it!” He stood up and spun around streching his hands out as if an invisible banner was being laid out before him. “They will call me Chat Noir! The stealthy, dark and mysterious figure that roams around Paris.” He wriggled his eyebrows when he turned to marinette to add “Chat noir the incredibly sexy is my full title, obviously.” 

She laughed and pressed a finger on his nose to push his face back. “Great name kitty maybe a little exaggerated.” 

He sat back down beside her closer than before, enough to brush shoulders. Marinette leaned her head to his shoulder and sighed. They looked to the thin line on the horison and watched the sun duck below. 

“I will never forget you chat noir.”


	5. Begin again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette’s parents persuade her to rekindle her relationship with old friends not knowing about what goes on in her time outside. She finally faces some of the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully this chapter will start filling in the gaps but its very angsty

‘I’m not ready.’ Marinette closed her eyes. She took a shaky breath and pulled her fiddling hands apart. She looked directly to herself in the mirror. Black earrings. Thats all she could see. She wore them everyday but she couldn’t look at them. Not since that day. The cold metal burnt her skin under her stare. She looked away. 

“Hey marinette, honey, alya is here.” Her mother’s sweet voice called from below. 

There was a reason she hadn’t met her bestfriend in nearly a year. After starting college alya was the one person who she refused to let slip away and they were closer than ever before. Thats when it happened. The incident. After... marinette just wasn’t the same. She couldn’t speak to anyone when she had finally came out of her room after months. How could she? Refusing to leave the house and curling up into her self was how she “coped”. Her best friend Alya on the other hand, threw herself into fast paced non-stop work. She too didn’t speak for a week after and she did hide away for a few weeks but all the while planning and making notes for her most recent dive into her greatest hobby. Journalism. Marinette was scared to finally meet her again knowing... knowing she wouldn’t know how to handle being face to face. 

Marinette entered the room slowly seeing the familiar redish brown hair over the sofa. “You two talk it out I will be just downstairs if you need anything, alright?” Sabine left to rejoin the bakery downstairs giving them space to talk. 

Alya had come to see her a few times when she wasn’t seeing anybody but marinette had sent her away. She couldn’t bare to face her; to have to explain. She still wasn’t ready. 

“Are you just going to stand there?” Alya had stood up when sabine had announced her departure and was now stood facing marinette. Something immediately caught her attention. A line tracing down the side of her face, curving from her temple to her upper lip. A jagged scar. The sight of it cause he stomach to drop. Marinette met her eyes. 

A lump trapped in her throat threatened to strangle her as tears blocked her vision. Marinette rushed forward and held her friend tightly just as her knees weakened. She buried her face in her shoulder and cried. She heard alya crying too. 

“I’m so sowry.” Marinette croaked out into her friends shoulder. Her crying and sniffling making it barely comprehensible. 

“I thought you were mad at me.” Alya whined back in her wobbling voice. 

“Never.” So they stayed holding each other until they could catch their breath, their cheeks still wet with tears. 

“I came to see you before.” 

“I know.” Marinette was ashamed and tears burned in her eyes once again. She was glad they were sat on the sofa now still holding on to each other by the hand, desperatly afraid to lose them again. 

The next few hours were spent with the girls going between talking and crying as alya explained to marinette about her scar and what happened to her after the incident. She didn’t press marinette knowing she would share when she was ready. Marinette went quiet just holding her friend closely. 

“You were only there because of me.” Alya confessed in a sob. 

“But look at me alya. I’m ok.” Marinette took in a deep breath. “We’re ok.” She whispered more for herself. 

Alya’s pitying smile and wet cheeks spoke more than enough to say she knew better than to assume her outward scars reflected those within. But no one needed to hear it. Sabine had popped her head up and given the girls a plate of cookies before letting them have more time to just breathe. Time to talk, rekindle and begin again. 

The girls had calmed down now and alya had started talking about what she has been up to. She revealed that in her recovery she became obsessed with finding out what had happened and all the survivors who must’ve had their own stories to tell about how it’s all affected them, and alya was determined to find the truth. With the help of her new blog she has been researching one particular story connected to lots of the survivors and it was all there for marinette to find when she was ready. Prehaps it linked to her story too. Alya began to explain how she found out people’s stories and researched different aspects of how it linked all together without giving marinette too much to overwhelm her. For now alya would just let her know it was there. 

“Don’t overwork yourself alya things take time to unfold.” 

“I can’t give up on this story.” She sighed. “Its too important.” 

It was late afternoon and the sun was begining its final arc when alya finally left to join her family for dinner back home. Goodbye:long lasting hugs and a sense of warmth. Marinette felt a great sense of relief. 

There were no complaints when marinette asked to still go out tonight as long as she came back at her usual time. She grabbed some of the remaining cookies in a bag and rushed to meet Chat. When she arrived at the rock that overhung the scar the sad silhouette of her favourite cat was slouched over, facing the setting sun. 

Marinette coughed and he spun around, quickly jumping to his feet scrambling over and pulling her into a hug. 

“I thought you weren’t coming I was so worried I...” He stopped to take an overly dramatic sniff pulling back. “Are those cookies?” 

Marinette laughed as she walked him back to sit down in their spot. He watched her attentively and waited patiently for her. She tried to tell Chat why she was late but she found a lump in her throat stopped her words. Alya. 

She handed him the cookies and turned away to face the sky but instead of hearing the rustling of a paper bag, she felt his hand in hers but she didn’t look at it she only smiled as tears filled her eyes. She knew what it meant. And so they sat with chats head resting on her shoulder with his arms wrapped around her, one hand in hers. It was strange to be held while sitting side by side but it fit them so well marinette didn’t mind. She couldn’t remember when they got quite this comfortable with each other only that she didn’t want to this moment to end. If she could just stay and not have to deal with whatever came tomorrow or the next day. Simply have just her and her Chat. Freeze this moment forever. She wished the sun would never set.


End file.
